17Oct 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

Boise to test new technologies that could remove PFAS from wastewater before it’s reused

Idaho News
By Angela Kerndl; Idaho News BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — The city of Boise will be testing new technologies for treating industrial wastewater, which could remove PFAS before it's reused. It's part of the city's proposed recycled water program. The city's conducting a pilot project in January. The basis for its recycled water program is - pulling water from existing or future industries, sending it to a separate dedicated facility, then using advanced water treatment. The city has discussed using that water for groundwater recharge or returning it to industry. The city has been working on its plans for a recycled water program for almost two years. “Our best day is that the community is proud of this - they understand the climate offset and the support for kind of climate…
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13Oct 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

DEQ announces drinking water and wastewater funding opportunities for fiscal year 2024

Idaho News
Local News 8 BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) — The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is announcing fiscal year 2024 grant and loan funding opportunities for Idaho’s drinking water and wastewater systems. Funding will be used to assist eligible public drinking water systems and wastewater systems with facility planning projects and help entities build or repair existing public drinking water systems and wastewater treatment facilities. Eligible applicants include governmental entities and nonprofit corporations that have authority to collect, treat, or dispose of sewage or industrial wastewater as well as community water systems and nonprofit noncommunity water systems. Funding Availability DEQ has several funding opportunities available. State Revolving Fund (SRF) Loans State Revolving Fund (SRF) loans provide low-interest funding for up to 100% of design and construction costs for drinking water and…
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05Oct 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

Soil and Water Conservation Commission eyes making grant program permanent

Idaho News
By Brad Carlson; Capital Press Concrete re-lining work on the upper New York Canal in central Boise. Boise Project Board of Control BOISE — The Idaho Soil and Water Conservation Commission plans to ask the Legislature during next year's session to make a temporary grant program permanent. The 2022 Legislature restarted the commission’s Water Quality Program for Agriculture by approving $5 million. The commission this year issued grants for 47 projects worth about $18.5 million when matching funds are included, said Delwyne Trefz, the administrator. The commission received 93 grant applications seeking $12 million. The projects were valued at more than $30 million when matching funds are included, he said. “The state was going to get a good bang for its buck,” Trefz said. “We’re going to go back and…
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29Sep 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

County will fund lake water analysis

Idaho News
By Kaye Thornbrugh; Coeur d'Alene Press COEUR d’ALENE — Kootenai County commissioners voted Wednesday to commit $50,000 to a project analyzing lake water samples for trace and toxic metals. Bill Brooks and Chris Fillios voted to provide the funds, which will come from the fiscal year 2022 community support budget. Leslie Duncan was not present for the meeting. The University of Idaho is working with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality to study the impacts of wakes on water quality in the nearshore zone in Lake Coeur d’Alene. Though IDEQ will fund the two-year study, there was no available funding to perform additional analysis on water samples for trace and toxic metals associated with past mining waste from the Bunker Hill and Silver Valley mining districts. The Kootenai County Natural…
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21Sep 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

Idaho awards grants for fixing aging water infrastructure

Idaho News
By Brad Carlson; Capital Press Joe Tackett and Greg Curtis of Nampa and Meridian, Idaho, Irrigation District at the Ridenbaugh Canal headworks on the Boise River. Brad Carlson/Capital Press The Idaho Water Resource Board on Sept. 16 approved 12 grants totaling $12.5 million to upgrade aging irrigation infrastructure. The board’s finance committee on Sept. 8 endorsed the grant recipients and dollar amounts, which the full board approved. The board received 31 requests for a combined $41 million. A single region cannot get more than half of the money. In the southwest, for example, the state approved a grant of $1.82 million rather than the $3.18 million Nampa and Meridian Irrigation District requested to modernize Ridenbaugh Canal. District directors will decide how to proceed with the project, said Greg Curtis, water…
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07Sep 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

Water alternatives presented to Moscow leaders

Idaho News
By Anthony Kuipers; Moscow-Pullman Daily News The Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee presented its report on alternative water sources to the Moscow City Council on Tuesday in an effort to inform city leaders about ways to slow the aquifer’s decline. PBAC hired Alta Science and Engineering Inc. as a consultant to analyze the four alternatives. The recommended alternative is to divert water from the South Fork of the Palouse River in Pullman eight months out of the year, and divert water from Moscow’s Paradise Creek four months out of the year. It was the option that scored the highest based on criteria that includes cost and reliability. During a July PBAC meeting, Alta’s water resources division manager Robin Nimmer said this option had the least expensive capital cost of $73 million…
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01Sep 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

Health Advisory Issued For Spirit Lake

Idaho News
Coeur d'Alene Press The Panhandle Health District issued a health advisory for Spirit Lake on Wednesday. A health advisory has been issued for Spirit Lake. The Panhandle Health District in collaboration with the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare and Idaho Department of Environmental Quality issued the warning Wednesday for Spirit Lake and Lake Cocolalla, according to a press release. Recent water sampling by DEQ indicates the presence of cyanobacteria, also known as a harmful algae bloom or blue-green algae in Spirit Lake and Lake Cocolalla. The public is urged to use caution when recreating in or near the water, especially where ingestion is a risk, the release said. Cyanobacteria are a natural part of Idaho’s water bodies. When temperatures rise, their populations can bloom and toxic chemical compounds, or…
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29Aug 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

Spokane Riverkeeper urges conservation as water flows fall

Idaho News
By Kip Hall; The Spokesman Review Kayakers paddle slowly down the Little Spokane River where it flows along State Route 291 and near where it flows into the Spokane River in this July 2021 photo. River flows that year were among their lowest over the past five years, according to United States Geological Survey data, and flows this year are approaching those levels after the river was roaring from heavy snowmelt and rain earlier this spring. (Jesse Tinsley/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW) The organization tasked with protecting the Spokane River is urging city residents to reduce their water use, including watering lawns and plants just twice per week, during the final weeks of summer as flows plunge to droughtlike levels. “We had all this water. We had this great snowpack,” said Jerry White…
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18Aug 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

Exploding population boom in Idaho is affecting domestic water supply

Idaho News
By Anteia McCollum; Idaho Capital Sun Tourists and locals alike enjoy a beach along the shores of Coeur d’Alene Lake near the resort in Kootenai County. (Anteia Elswick/Idaho Capital Sun) As more people migrate to Idaho, counties like Ada and Kootenai are seeing the effects of the rising population on the areas’ already diminishing water sources. Whether water is coming from groundwater sources like aquifers or surface water sources like rivers and reservoirs, local officials say Idaho’s water is being used faster than it can be replenished. In 2015, Idaho had the highest water usage per person in the nation with an average of 184 gallons of water being used a day, according to a report from the U.S. Geological Survey. While 1.6% of Idaho’s water withdrawals were used for…
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16Aug 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

Health advisory issued for Fernan Lake in North Idaho, yet another cyanobacteria victim

Idaho News
Idaho Statesman Algae is pictured along the shore of Fernan Lake this month. A public health advisory was issued Thursday for Fernan Lake. The advisory, issued by Panhandle Health District in collaboration with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, states that recent water sampling indicates the presence of cyanobacteria, a harmful algae bloom, in the lake. The agencies are urging the public to use caution when recreating in or near the water, especially where ingestion is a risk. TOP VIDEOS × Cyanobacteria are a natural part of Idaho’s water bodies. When temperatures rise, their populations can bloom and toxic chemical compounds, or cyanotoxins, can be released into the water. Caution should be taken anywhere where the water appears discolored or murky as…
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